Connections
by Phantasmal Abduction
Summary: THis is probably going to be a horrible story. Main pairings AxelRoxas and SoraRiku and suddenly CloudLeon have appeared. Rated for abuse, rape, suicide  possibly  self harm and more lol. Cheerfulness will not abound.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One.**

The young boy cringed at the sound of wood striking flesh and tried to scramble further under the bed. For as long as he could remember his nights had been punctuated with the sounds of his mother being ferociously beaten. This night was exactly the same as last month, last week, last year.

Sudden light glared into his dark solace and a huge hand invaded his world. His fingers scrabbled uselessly at the wall and he was sliding out from under the bed into the harsh light and then the deep shadow of his father.

"You little bastard!" Screamed the figure standing over him. "You little fucker, look at what you're doing to this family!"

Another dark figure appeared swaying drunkenly. His mother. "You are a worthless shit!" She shrieked. "I wish you had never been born. Then Reno and I wouldn't have to bother with you!"

Silent tears began to stream down the boy's face, but he did not cry out loud. He knew from bitter experience that sobbing would only make the beating harder. He curled into a ball just as his mother slapped him hard across the shoulders. She lashed out at her son a few more times before sliding to the floor in a drunken stupor. The boy winced, for now that his mother Tifa was done with him, Reno would take over; and he was strong.

Axel's day was just beginning. It was 3am.

88888

Reno stood over Axel and stared pitilessly down at the shaking boy. He felt the familiar rage rise up inside him and embraced the feeling fully. He knelt next to Axel and firmly entwined his fingers in the boy's fine red hair that so closely matched his. Taking a deep breath he stood up and yanked the boy to his feet by his hair.

Reno's eyes narrowed and he let out a grunt of effort as he slammed his fist into the boy's ribs. Holding him like a punching bag the furious man pulled back and swung again and again. After eight or nine punches and hearing Axel's ribs crack half a dozen times, Reno shook him lose from his fist, tearing out a handful of hair as he dropped the boy unceremoniously to the floor. He grinned briefly as he enjoyed his power over the boy before he went to work again.

Glaring at Axel's body convulsing on the floor Reno shuddered as a dark energy seemed to pour into his body. He blinked to clear his alcohol soaked vision and strangely, instead of the blackness inside his eyelids, Reno saw a pair of burning golden eyes staring back at him. Inside his echoing head he could hear an urging whisper – 'Break the boy. Break his body into nothing. Kill him.'

Axel did not know why he was being given a brief reprieve, but with his breath now coming in gasps, he knew he could not stay conscious much longer. Having passed out during one of Reno's rampages and woken up in a hospital bed, Axel knew he had to get to safety before lapsing into unconsciousness. Hands clenched into fists and wrapped tightly round his grinding ribs he gritted his teeth and attempted to climb to his feet.

Too late. Reno opened his bleary eyes and bared his teeth at the sight of his victim's show of strength. Lunging forward he wrapped strong fingers around the youth's pale neck and slammed him mercilessly against the battered wall. Face twisting in a sick smile Reno stared into Axel's dying eyes, watching the spark of life fade in the depths of jade.

Though his strength was draining away fast Axel managed to lock his gaze with his father's. Instead of the faded blue of forget-me-nots he saw something that forced a rasping gasp of shock from his straining lungs. Golden veins threaded through Reno's irises making his eyes glow with an unearthly light.

With his the last of his breath Axel tried to make his father understand that something was inside him, glorying in his evil. He couldn't force his mouth to work, he had been pushed beyond his limits. Axel felt the world fall away from him and as everything turned to black he could not tell that it was him actually falling from his father's grasp.

88888

Pursing her lips in disgust Aerith strode past Cloud as he wrestled Reno's hands behind him and into handcuffs. She took in the dank hallway noting the torn carpet, the rotting doorways and the holes in the walls above powdered plaster. Twining her fingers into her thick auburn hair, the social worker could hardly bear to let her gaze settle on the crumpled figure on the floor. She forced herself to take in the details in front of her.

Axel's head lolled back onto his left shoulder, neck tilted at a strange angle. His pallid face was covered in blue-black bruises and caked in crusted blood. Hand-shaped bruises circled his slender neck, already turning red and purple where the blood vessels had broken under his father's hands. Kneeling before him, Aerith laid her hand gently beneath his nostrils and was rewarded with a faint tickle of breath. Sighing she called for a stretcher and shook away tears from her cheeks. Taking Cloud's offered hand she got to her feet and left the squalid house without a backwards glance.

88888

_Golden eyes narrowed in disappointment. From between perfect lips came a hiss of frustration, cut off by a snap of sharpened teeth. Marble splintered into shards as a scream of thwarted ambition echoed through the empty stone halls. The scream echoed through the solid walls and passed without lessening through the spaces between the worlds. 11 hearts across the land of Fallenstar skipped a beat in their sleep, and in the morning 11 young faces awoke wet with unremembered tears._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two.

Cloud gritted his teeth as he sat at his desk, pen poised over the report that was already a week overdue. In the ten years he had been working in Shardsvale as a member of Deliverance he had never seen anything like the scene in the Lee's household and he was having a hard time even starting the report without letting his emotions color is writing.

Cloud had seen the aftermath of Axel's beating at the hands of his father, and he had also been present during the interview in the jail dungeon where the guards held Reno. The tall thin man had displayed no remorse for the almost-murder of his son and was currently swearing ceaselessly at anyone within hearing range. The only thing that seemed to be coloring his emotions was his lack of cigarettes.

Clenching his fists until his nails drew blood Cloud scrawled an end to his report and threw it at his outbox. Even as the report flew through the air Cloud was on his feet and out the door towards the training room behind the main office. Deliverance knew that its members had to deal with the most brutal aspects of society and that no one could walk amongst such pain for long without being affected. As most of its officers were ex-soldiers, the controllers of Deliverance had deemed it necessary to provide a physical outlet for the frustrations and emotions of those charged with keeping the city's peace.

Brushing past his fellow officers without missing a step, Cloud burst into the training room. He swept his busterblade off of the wall where it hung and in the same movement slammed his fist onto the button that started his own personal training program. Shaking his head to clear the horrible images of Axel's beaten body and Reno's emotionless face, the blonde fighter shifted his feet into a practiced battle stance.

Scant seconds after the button was pushed, the room disappeared into darkness and the shadows reformed into new shapes - a dimly lit large warehouse. Echoes in the darkness hinted at large creatures moving around, but for a full ten seconds Cloud was left untouched straining his ears for any whisper of attacking motion. A slight smile tugged at the edges of Cloud's mouth, his program had been upgraded to elite and as unpredictable as possible.

Out of nowhere a distorted shape flew out from behind him a slashed a short dagger across Cloud's leg. Biting his lip Cloud ignored the pain and inwardly blessed the reality of his personal training set. Even though the whole environment simulated, the swords were still sharp and the wounds still bled. Ignoring the fact that he could be attacked at any second Cloud spared a charitable thought for Squall Leonhart who designed the training technology specifically for Deliverance.

A slight rustle to his left banished all conscious thought from his mind and Cloud whipped his sword around and blocked the slim blade that would have skewered him through the stomach. In a glance Cloud took the strange form of creature that stood before him and he realized he had fought a beast like this before. Trying to push his personal feelings about the original encounter aside, Cloud pushed his golden spikes of hair out of his face and started to advance on the shadow wolf-man that was his opponent.

Acting like the part-beast it was, the wolfman rushed straight in slashing powerfully at him. Cloud knew not to stay at the edge of the ferocious chopping motions as the wolfman had a long reach and no trouble maneuvering a blade in a duel. Lifting his busterblade faster than should have been possible Cloud blocked his opponents blade and stepped in close within the hulking form's reach.

Using touch alone Cloud separated the thinnest sword of the 6 interlocking swords behind his back and flicked it down to his side. Warily the wolfman circled as his pray now carried two weapons. This time instead of reacting to an attack, Cloud took the offensive and dived toward his adversary. Surprised by the aggressiveness of the move, the wolfman stepped back allowing Cloud the extra room he needed to swing both swords across his enemy's throat almost decapitating the creature with the power of the swing.

Breathing only a little harder than at the beginning of his session, Cloud rejoined his sword together and then uncoupled the two even weighted swords each made of three components. Now that the first assault was over, there would be a huge increase in the numbers of attacking creatures thrown at him. Wiping away a grin, Cloud knew that this next lot would be a lot less humanoid than the original assailants. Apparently the program had taken into account the events of his day at the Lee's residence and calculated that non-human foes would be better than recognizable humans.

Cloud had barely lowered into his battle stance when he heard the scuttle of sharpened claws. This attack had no direction as every way he turned he could see a type of creature he had not yet come across before. These animals (?) if they could even be called animals stood tall on four insectile legs underneath an almost human torso. But only the shape of the torso could be called even vaguely human. The face of the new creature was like a distorted combination of a dog and a bird but melted together. Protruding from it's face the thing had short razor sharp spines that grew longer and thicker, turning to a mane at the back of the head. On each side of the human-like torso were two thick arms that would have disgraced a strongman and they held weapons so twisted and bizarre that one could only tell they were meant to inflict pain.

The largest of the attacking group attacked without even so much as a hint that it was about to move. One second the fiend was staring at Cloud through mesmerizingly smokey red orbs, and they next second it had bulled into Cloud knocking is from his feet and knocking one of his swords out of reach. Flat on his back Cloud frantically blocked three, five, more stabbing attacks from smaller creatures like the bigger one. Parrying the creatures' stabs in a blinding display of swordsmanship Cloud hooked his foot around a rock and dragged himself violently out of the melee.

Unfortunately the 'rock' that Cloud had used as a lever turned out to be the razor-edged leg of the largest insect creature. The only thing that saved Cloud from the furious slash of the animal's leg was his inhuman speed and agility. He threw himself into a backwards roll and pushed hard with his hands vaulting to his feet. Tightening his grip around the one sword he still had hold of Cloud silently charged his enemy.

Cloud's first blow was brushed aside like a feather and the creature flicked out it's own twisted blade, slicing deep into his calf and spraying blood widely. Swearing explosively Cloud wiped the blood out his eyes and spun on his uninjured foot sending both his swords whistling through the air. The massive creature had thought its prey was downed and moved right into the path of Cloud's attack.

There was no respite however as the smaller creatures that followed the larger monster swarmed together and all attacked at once. Slipping in his own blood Cloud leaped high above the horde of monsters slamming his sword into the wall for a handhold and called up all his remaining energy to unleash Meteo-rain in a hail of burning death. As he heard the screams of the last creature fading, Cloud hung limp from his sword. This program had been exceptionally draining and he couldn't wait to sheath his sword once more.

As he dropped gingerly to the ground Cloud made sure he put no weight on his injured leg. Tearing a strip off his white t-shirt He wrapped it tightly around his leg just under the knee so he wouldn't lose too much blood before seeing a healer. Something however was not right. By now Cloud thought, the warehouse surrounding him should have dissolved into the nondescript interim room that the programs materialized in. Instead, the shadows remained dark and he could hear another set of footsteps making their way towards him.

Dull blue eyes had been watching Cloud's battle from the darkest shadow. The watcher had taken in every nuance of his fighting and every detail of his body from his disheveled blonde spikes of hair to the sheen of sweat that coated his tautly muscled arms. The gaze of the watcher was not so much a stare as a caress that followed the warrior, and now that the monsters were all dead it was time to approach Cloud himself.

Glancing down to make sure that the makeshift bandage around his leg would hold, Cloud did not see the figure swiftly closing in on him. Even in the split second he took to check on his leg Cloud found himself arched backwards with a blade pressed hard against his throat. Not daring to move his head Cloud could see nothing of his assailant except a human looking hand and arm that closed like a vice across his chest.

Silent for a few seconds after the initial flurry of activity Cloud twitched as a voice sounded from right next to his ear. He couldn't place the rough whisper as being anyone he knew from Deliverance.

'Need to focus more Strife.' The voice hissed. 'Wouldn't last a second out of the sim world.' With the last words a hot breath blew across his earlobe. 'At least you know enough not to struggle against me. Wouldn't do you any good. Not right now.'

Letting his own breath out in a hiss of annoyance Cloud tensed back to throw his unknown attacker backward. Immediately the sword at his throat tightened against his jugular drawing a thin line of blood. Cloud stopped struggling and went limp trying to judge the moment that would come when he could break free.

Humming in satisfaction at Cloud's current surrender the figure behind him made an unexpected move in contrast to his soft voice and threw Cloud bodily to the floor. Without time to throw up his hands for the impact, Cloud grunted as his face connected to the floor knocking him dizzy for a second. By the time he was thinking clearly again Cloud could feel the hard cold concrete against his back and the strong legs of the other straddling him firmly.

Cloud's eyes were first looking at the wall behind him when he shook the dizziness from his head but the second the situation came back to him he locked eyes with the man straddling him and let out a groan of utter bewilderment. The man who had obviously been watching Cloud's flight in the simulator and was now holding him down was no other than Squall Leonhart the director of Cloud's section of Deliverance.

Cloud's shocked luminescent blue eyes met Squall's shadowed ones. Too stunned even to struggle he blurted out, 'Squall! What... What is this?'

A sardonic smile spread over Squall's fine features and he released one of Cloud's arms to brush his dark brown hair back from his forehead. Involuntarily Cloud moved to free himself but was slammed back into the concrete with Squall's strong fingers now gripping his throat. Leaning down so his face was right in front of Cloud Squall growled in the back of his throat and started to squeeze.

Thoughts raced through Cloud's head without sense or reason. His superior officer had broken into his training program and was now strangling him. Suddenly with the seriousness of his situation splashing over him like a bucket of water, Cloud bucked his body violently and grabbed Squall's jacket to try and throw the heavier man off.

Realizing that he was losing his grip on the blonde's neck Squall drew back his fist and hammered a punch into Cloud's temple. As the blonde fell back limp and dazed Squall felt a strange impulse take hold of him. Kneeling next to Cloud he straddled him once again but this time instead of reaching down in violence, he ran his fingers through the blonde's bedraggled hair with surprising gentleness.

Cloud slowly drifted back into consciousness but didn't open his eyes straight away. He was bleeding and battered and so very confused he almost felt like just letting reality slip away. It was just as this thought bloomed however that he felt Squall's lips meet his own in a kiss so gentle that it felt like a whisper. His eyes flew open and he found himself staring straight into Squall's eyes. But they weren't the stormy gray that he knew. Squall deepened the kiss and stared back with eyes glowing golden.

Unable to resist in his weakened state Cloud lay under Squall as the dark fighter kissed him. He didn't even notice his own hand moving up to cup the other's cheek. Humming into the kiss Squall let his body settle onto Cloud and reveled in the feeling of their lean muscled bodies against each other.

Moaning into Squall's mouth Cloud lifted his hand further and let it trace the scar that tracked across the other man's face. As Squall's hand drifted over his shoulders and onto his chest Cloud's eyes slipped closed at the pure pleasure of his touch. Squall's hand ghosted lightly across the taut planes of Cloud's chest crawling up once again to his neck. Cloud tensed at this but all Squall did was use one hand to tilt Cloud's head to the side so he could move his kisses to the bruises on Cloud's throat.

Lost in confusion and not a little lust Cloud let out a groan and clenched his fingers in Squall's hair. Even though the brunette was being as gentle as possible Cloud still cringed involuntarily as a rib scraped in his chest, arching his whole body against Squall's. And in that moment blackness engulfed Cloud and he was back in the interim training room, alone.

Disoriented and hurting Cloud staggered to his feet and lurched to the medical bay next to the training ward. His head was spinning, his wounds were aching and staring to bleed again and he could still feel Squall's hands on his face. Slumping onto a bed Cloud heard the nurses bustling towards him and once more let go his grip on the world. The last thing he saw before he fell into unconsciousness was Squall's beautiful face made alien with the golden eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three.

Dull sunlight striped grimy gray carpet and highlighted the dust motes that filled the air. After spending five nights in the public hospital though, Axel was relieved to be lying on a real mattress instead of a foam pad. Currently alone in the room the redhead ran his slitted eyes over the other three beds and tried to remember the names of his new roommates.

He had only actually only met one of the other guys meant to be sharing the room with him, a fine-boned blonde with fathomless blue eyes called Roxas. The other two were both out a work placement and were due to be back after dinner. Biting his lip Axel searched his fuzzy brain for their names, something like Sora and Rika? No Riku, that was it.

Turning his mind back to Roxas who had drifted in and out of the room silently almost an hour ago Axel tried to fight through the remaining numbing morphine in his system and figure out what he was going to do. Roxas was a little younger than himself being 16 and had been in the house for four years. He was an ex-gang orphan in his fourth attempt at leaving the street gang and no one knew much more about him than that. Axel knew that the house he was now in was for troubled teens and drug addicted kids, but not really who all was there and what he would need to do. He barely remembered his first meeting with Sephiroth the administrator of the house.

That morning Axel had been taken to the front room of the house named Kojo by Sephiroth and he was sat in a chair facing Sephiroth's desk. Next to him stood Aerith from the Deliverance organization, a hand on his shoulder to keep him upright. Axel was only a couple of hours out of the hospital and was fighting against the instinct to pass out. The conversation between Aerith and Sephiroth drifted around him but he could only focus on a couple of words at a time - 'beaten by his father', 'almost killed', 'indefinite stay'. Something he did pick up on was an intense air of dislike underlying everything Aerith said. Strange really, he thought these two would have to work together a lot.

Now on a bed allocated to him in the safe walls of Kojo, Axel let a little of the tension inside him ease away. He ran his hands down his ribs wincing at the stabs of pain that still pierced him and let out a dry chuckle. 'I got away.' he whispered to himself. 'It nearly killed me... Oh god he nearly killed me.' Rolling onto his stomach, ignoring the aches all over his body, Axel finally let tears fall for the father he loved and the hate he had received in return.

Sprawled on the one couch to grace the many rooms of Kojo Roxas let his thoughts be taken away by the rush of alcohol in his blood. He did try to stay away from the gang each time he was dragged back to Kojo by Sephiroth's employees but there was something missing inside him that only the camaraderie of the gang life seemed to fill. Languidly raising his hand so he could see his arm Roxas stared at the mottled bruises and handmade tattoos that marked him, tears trickling unnoticed down his thin cheeks.

It could have minutes but was more likely hours later when Roxas ran his hand through his wild dirty-blonde hair and propped himself up on one bony elbow. Glancing at the clock he could see it was only five o'clock but it felt much later even though the other residents of Kojo were still out. Attempting to focus his aching brain Roxas finally noticed what had caught his attention. Somewhere else in the house that should be empty, someone was crying.

88888

Axel was so lost in the world of his own sorrows and pain that he completely failed to hear the dormitory door open to admit Roxas. He only became aware that he was not alone when a tentative hand rested on his back. Breath catching in his throat he bolted upright and hurled himself back against the wall, head still caught in the horrendous memories of his father.

Shocked at the overreaction to his simple comfort Roxas lurched backwards and lost his balance. Letting out a startled shout he pitched backwards and slammed his head against the doorframe. Axel moved faster than he thought was possible in his weakened and painful state and launched off the bed to catch the blonde as he crumpled to the floor. Cradling Roxas in his arms Axel couldn't believe how light the younger boy was. It felt like he was holding feathers. Gently using his free hand he smoothed Roxas' hair and tried to get a response from the unconscious boy.

Roxas had entered the room full of irritation at someone disrupting the usually inviolate routine of Kojo House. He had not expected to see a boy on the bed weeping as though his heart could break. A snatch of memory floated into his head and he remember meeting this boy earlier, Axel that was it, and being told afterward about his background. Although Roxas knew that Axel had been beaten nearly to death by his own father he had not expected the extreme reaction when he touched the other teen's back. The look of sheer terror and revulsion in Axel's eyes had made him recoil more than the suddenness of the boy's movement.

As he fell backward and a split second before he hit the doorjamb Roxas caught a full view of Axel's face before it all went black. Leonine eyes the color of precious emeralds in a pale porcelain face marred only by blotchy bruises and two tearlike tattoos. Hair surrounded everything, the color of unchecked flame. The impression Roxas took with him as he passed out was that of a beautiful angel caught in the fires of hell.

88888

Sephiroth adjusted the television screen to lighten the image. A slight smirk pulled on his perfect lips as his gaze travelled over the angular body of Axel wrapped around the slumped form of Roxas. He hadn't actively planned to get the red haired boy to Kojo this soon or quite this way but he had found that when he was working for his current employer things tended to fall into place with almost disturbing accuracy.

Flipping open his cellphone with one hand Sephiroth ran the other hand through his silky silver hair before dialing the prearranged number. He kept his eyes on the image on the screen as the phone rang twice in his ear and was then picked up. All that could be heard on Sephiroth's end was, 'The pieces are on the board.' before he hung up and propped his chin between his slender hands. The smirk now widened enough to expose the ivory point of a tooth.

Sephiroth gently placed his phone where it belonged back on his desk and reflected on the orders he had been given by the person who now controlled his strings. He had never actually met the man who commanded him but he had done a little bit of research in his spare time and found one blurry photo of an ephemeral criminal named Xemnas. He could find next to nothing actually informative about this man, only that he had ties to the town of Shardsvale and strands of a criminal web that stretched the length and breadth of Fallenstar. When he asked for a name by which to refer to him Sephiroth was only given the name Ansem, but he easily rearranged the letters plus an 'X' to read Xemnas.

A strange and dangerous man in his own right, Sephiroth did not bother to look further for clues about Xemnas. He knew that he was constructing a plan involving a number of special teens and that the plan was to be kept from the gaze of the organization Deliverance at all costs. The one thing that kept his allegiance firmly with Xemnas however was the man's deep understanding of his own personal darkness. For a long time he had focused his unholy obsession on a young man called Cloud Strife who now worked for Deliverance, but now he had found a new object of desire. Working with Xemnas gave him both the access to his target and permission to do what he would, as Xemnas was not fussy on the condition of the pieces in his game.

Licking his lips and moving his slightly manic gaze back to the monitors Sephiroth abruptly shoved himself back from the desk and stood to his full intimidating height. In the black and white image on the monitor Axel was trying to pick Roxas up. Sephiroth was not sure what he planned to do once he stood straight with the other boy in his arms, but he did not plan to let them leave the room.

Grabbing two shimmering green healing materia he turned but paused. A malevolent smile growing on his face Sephiroth snatched up two more materia colored a sickly yellow, and in a swirl of winglike leather and teleported to just outside of the dorm room. Stashing all the materia in his voluminous cloak he strode into the room and looked down at the two boys on the floor.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4.

Three members of the Shardsvale Deliverance team revved their motorbikes and screeched round a sharp corner in hot pursuit of a diminutive but scarily fast figure garbed in high-heeled boots, a black tank top and fluorescent yellow miniskirt. Without warning the skinny girl whirled around and threw something small and ticking at her pursuers. As the thing hit the ground just ahead of the motorbikes it erupted in a rapidly expanding sphere of electromagnetic energy, shorting out the bikes and sending the Deliverance team crashing to the ground. Laughing to herself Larxene swung easily into the drain that she and Marluxia called home.

Lounging on a corroded metal bar when Larxene made her breathless entrance, Marluxia broke into a throaty chuckle. Running his thin fingers through faded pink hair he patted Larxene's cheek as she sauntered past. 'Chased again huh Larx? What did you do this time?'

Blowing a raspberry at his bantering tone Larxene replied, 'Deliverance was harassing some poor street kid and maybe I stepped in and mentioned who I was. They dropped the girl right smart when they thought they could bring in the Street Vixen.' Making a derogatory noise she turned back to Marluxia and cocked a hip. 'No chance of that, the bungling idiots. They couldn't catch a cold if someone sneezed on them.'

Chuckling again Marluxia hopped down from his perch and made his way over to Larxene to see what she had brought home to the Nest as they called it. 'Was it Lexaeus again? He would benefit from a brain transplant with a shrimp I'd say.'

Handing over 5 tins of fish Larxene smiled for the first time since arriving. 'Yeah, he was there with the only people around who can actually lose a battle of wits with him. Xaldin nearly crashed into Xigbar as they came round the corner. I thought for a minute I wouldn't have to even use my new EMP grenades.'

Laughing aloud Marluxia tossed the fish into a cupboard and ruffled Larxene's pristine hair provoking a growl. Dodging a punch aimed at his midriff Marluxia danced round the angry girl and delved into the third bag Larxene had brought but half hidden behind a concrete post. Pulling out a large bottle of vodka and a few bottles of pills he grinned at Larxene and with a flourish placed the drugs and alcohol in pride of place in the middle of the table.

Rolling her ice-blue eyes Larxene cuffed Marluxia upside the head and swept the vodka and pill bottles into a hidden niche behind the table. 'If it is okay with your Highness, I would like to get the supplies put away before you vanish into that bottle.' Turning to face the grinning pink-haired male minx she grabbed his loose black shirt and pulled him close, 'And this time we need to leave some for Vexen. He kicked seven kinds of shit out of me when you went through the whole stash before he got back last time.'

Sheepishly scratching his head Marluxia bit his lip. 'Shit I'm sorry Larx, I didn't know he hit you. I promise I won't even get started until he gets back.' Grinning winningly he smoothed Larxene's hair back into place and offered her a lollipop that magically appeared between his fingers.

Sighing with exasperation Larxene took the lollipop and turned away to put the rest of the supplies away. Hiding a smile she unwrapped the sucker and popped it into her mouth adjusting the plastic stick to jut at a rakish angle from her lips. 'Vexen's due to back later tonight Marl, you won't have to wait too long. And trust me, he said he would bring back something good.'

Chuckling again in his throaty voice Marluxia started feverishly stacking the load of cans Larxene was trying to pack away. Winking at her he carried 3 high stacks to another cupboard and twirled flamboyantly before deftly shutting the food away. 'Ah Larx,' he grinnned. 'You do look after me so well. Where would I be without a mother like you?' Dodging a rather more serious punch than before he scuttled away to his room yelling, 'I'll get you for domestic abuse MOTHER!'

Too tired to even bother with a reply Larxene let herself fall bonelessly onto the nasty looking couch they managed to scrounge from someone's rubbish pile. Staring at the top of the pipe that made up their main living area the blonde girl sighed again and let her eyes slide shut. She wasn't looking forward to Vexen arriving at the Nest.

88888

His fist connected hard with the softness of the sleeping girl's cheek, snapping it to the right and throwing her head hard into the back of the couch. Before she could even wake up properly let alone react he grabbed her ankle and swung her bodily into the concrete pillar directly across from the sofa. As Larxene lay choking for breath on the ground she stared expressionlessly into Vexen's furious pale green eyes.

'You provoked Deliverance again you stupid bitch!' He hissed, spitting out his words with venom in every syllable. 'I told you to avoid them unless they caught you red handed and you go and confront them over something that wasn't even your problem. I hope at least you ditched them a few blocks from the Nest. Huh? Did you?'

Biting back a groan of agony Larxene spat out a wad of blood onto Vexen's shoes. 'They were too busy trying to avoid being crushed by their bikes to notice where I disappeared. The EMP grenades would have knocked out their GPS memory too so they couldn't just search it. You're not the only one who wants to stay out of the gaze of Deliverance!'

At her words Vexen went stock still. He had seemed very, very angry when he entered and started smashing his fists into her flesh but that was nothing compared to the expression on his face now. The whites of his eyes turned slowly pink then filled with blood red. Tilting his head with his eyes still fixed on Larxene, Vexen began to mutter under his breath. Wracked with pain and feeling decidedly foggy Larxene didn't pick up on his words until it was too late.

As the word '_**Surin**_!' left Vexen's lips along with a flinging gesture of his hand, Larxene let out a throat-tearing scream. As Vexen voiced his ice magic through the catalyst of his native french language a dagger of ice flew through the air to embed itself deep in Larxene's right shoulder. She shuddered as the ice shard burrowed deeper and let loose another scream as Vexen sent another sliver of ice slicing into her leg. Larxene's blood soaked her shirt and began to trickle down further onto her pale stomach.

88888

At Larxene's first scream Marluxia had jolted upright straight out of sleep nearly knocking himself out on the pipe that hung low out of the ceiling. When her second scream of agony echoed through the pipes he threw himself off of the shelf he called a bed and just about catapulted through to the living area. The scene that met his eyes sent a chill throughout his whole body.

Larxene was lying curled in a pool of her own blood, bleeding from wounds all over her body. From every tear in her skin protruded a wicked sliver of Vexen's silver-blue ice. Standing over her shuddering body, Vexen stood with his back to Marluxia fists clenched at his sides. Slowly materializing in front of Vexen's face was a deadly long blade that was rapidly looking more and more solid. Marluxia's gorge rose in his throat as the realization slid into his mind, Vexen was going to kill Larxene as soon as the sword was made real.

Taking in the scene and Larxene's injuries had flashed through Marluxia's mind in a second. Before he could even voice a scream of fury he had summoned his own blade, a massive scythe, and hurled himself at Vexen's back.

As if by magic Vexen's arm shot out and caught the handle of Marluxia's scythe in midair. Gritting his teeth Marluxia raised his slate blue eyes to meet Vexen's green and he let out a gasp of shock. Instead of seeing a gaze of pale green, Marluxia was looking in twin pools of roiling golden madness. The shock momentarily robbed him of his strength leaving Vexen free to spin and throw both him and his scythe against the back wall of the blocked off pipe.

Marluxia hit the wall hard but managed to curl his body into a ball to minimize the impact. Rolling down the geometric curve of the wall he landed back on his feet and crouched at the ready in front of Vexen again. He flickered his eyes quickly over to Larxene and was relieved to see her customary snarl back on her face and she was pushing herself stubbornly to her feet. At the very least he swore to himself, he would buy her the time to get away.

'Vexen you bastard!' Marluxia yelled to keep his attention. 'I'll kill you for touching her!' Ignoring the pain in his back from the impact with the wall Marluxia arrogantly ran his hand through his tousled pink hair and cocked a hip, leaning casually on his scythe. 'You know you'll have to work harder if you want to take care of me rather than your tiny sister who wasn't expecting it.'

Letting out an inhuman growl, Vexen seemed to forget all about the sword he was forming from nothing and about the girl he had been so intent on killing. Fixing his alien golden eyes on Marluxia he started to circle around the perimeter of the room, moving like a stalking animal after its prey.

As soon as Vexen's attention was diverted from the defenseless body of Larxene, Marluxia ditched all of his faked cockiness. He gripped his scythe tightly in both hands, turning slowly on the spot to keep his front towards the maddened Vexen. Even though his every nerve was as tight as a bowstring, Marluxia still was not prepared for the speed of Vexen's charge or the manic strength of the man he once thought of as friend.

As he broke towards Marluxia, Vexen swept one hand down pulling his ice-shield out of thin air and almost in the same motion used the bulk of the shield to pin Marluxia's thin body helplessly against the wooden cupboards. Marluxia lost his grip on the scythe as he was flung backwards and closed his eyes in despair as it clattered to the floor. His head tilted back and the sharpened edge of the shield choking off his windpipe, the pink-haired boy couldn't even draw breath let alone loosen the death-grip on his neck.

What neither Marluxia nor Vexen had noticed was that Larxene had not tried to run. Fleeing was not in her nature even broken down to the basest level and she was not about to leave a friend, not if she was at death's door which was entirely possible. Trying to ignore the stabbing pains all over her skinny frame, Larxene flicked her hands in a complex twisting motion summoning forth her lightening charged throwing knives.

Marluxia was nearly at the point of unconsciousness when he saw a flicker of movement behind Vexen's muscled body. His eyes widened as they locked with Larxene's gaze, directionless prayers forming in his mind as she drew back a handful of knives to throw. Time seemed to stand still and the knives hardly seemed to to move through the intervening space before disappearing hilt deep into Vexen's back.

Sending a fervent plea to any listening deity to protect Marluxia, Larxene sank her teeth into her lip drawing more blood and whispered '**_Corscum_**.' Larxene's lightening magic as opposed to Vexen's ice was accessible to her through the Latin language. As her whisper sounded from her lips four bolts of lightening flashed from thin air to ground in the knives buried in Vexen's flesh. Both he and Marluxia let out different pitch screams at the touch of the lightening before collapsing on the floor wracked with electric current. The minute Marluxia went limp, Larxene dragged herself over to him and heaved him onto her shoulders. Drawing on strength she hardly even knew she had, Larxene stood and hauled her friend out of the Nest. No direction in mind, the blonde girl staggered into the street and off into the growing darkness.

88888

With a jolt Axel awoke, staring wildly into the night. He didn't usually do well keeping track of time, but this was worse than normal. His last clear memory was of someone hitting their head before he caught them in his arms but after that there were only strange snatches of scenes that seemed to be viewed by someone else from a long way away.

Still lying down Axel gave his vaguely aching head a vigorous shake and immediately regretted it when stars burst before his eyes bringing an involuntary groan. Dragging a hand over his eyes Axel held his breath in anticipation of pain and sat bolt upright. He let out a shaky breath when the expected agony failed to hit and opened his eyes to see a dark room filled with darker shadows. Getting tentatively out of his bed Axel fumbled towards where he remembered Roxas' bed to be to see if the young teen was ok.

Crashing into a table perfectly positioned to assault his bony shins Axel choked down a curse. The pain did clear some of the fuzziness from his brain however and the redhead even cracked a smile when he remembered how useful his magic could be. Raising a thin eyebrow Axel held up his left hand and conjured a tiny ball of flames into his palm. Lifting the light up to head height he made his way around the various bedroom obstacles to Roxas's bedside.

In the flickering light, the sleeping boy looked even younger than usual. His blonde hair, as usual, stuck up at all angles but also a few strands framed his fine-boned face. Axel couldn't help himself, he reached down and gently brushed his fingertips across Roxas's cheek and smoothed the strands of hair back into place. Slightly bemused at his strong protective instinct towards the young blonde, Axel sank to his knees by the bed.

As Axel's mind filled with the image of Roxas falling backward he lost control of his magic, the little flame winking out leaving him in pitch darkness. As opposed to earlier, the darkness wasn't just a lack of light, it was almost a sentient being intent on smothering Axel's senses. Sucking in a shuddering breath Axel turned is head from side to side, fruitlessly searching for light with his wide unseeing eyes. He found no hint of anything other than blackness, and this total darkness threw him into a dark memory.

_Cold skin against his own warm body. Fingers ostensibly caressed his chest, but in reality held his inert body to the bed, augmenting the effect of whatever drug or magic that paralyzed his movements. Only isolated impressions filtered through into Axel's thoughts, he couldn't seem to focus even vaguely on what was happening no matter how hard he tried._

_Time elapsed as his body was mauled and then he felt the attentions of the shadowy figure move lower down, stroking his lean hips before tugging his boxers off roughly. The room seemed to spin around him and he once again tried to force a sound from his numbed throat to no avail. As the assailant moved up again from Axel's motionless thighs, the teen felt hot breath puffing against the most private parts of him and gave up his tenuous grasp on the world. A hot mouth enclosed his member and his vision started to fade. The last thing he saw as blackness took him was a world enclosed in a silver blizzard._

Flames burst from both of Axel's palms to burn either side of his crumpled body like guarding lights. The burst of light from the creation of the twin pillars of fire lit the room like a firework, jolting Roxas from his sleep. Still groggy with sleep the blonde had no idea what was happening, only that he could see Axel beside his bed obviously in great distress. Without a second thought Roxas slipped out from under the covers and wrapped his arms around Axel in an attempt to comfort him. He did not know it but he was mirroring the pose Axel had adopted on seeing his injury earlier in the evening.

88888


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five.

The bell above the bar rang again, signaling another arrival into the club. Swearing quietly a teen with shoulder length silver hair picked up the phone to call for reinforcements behind the bar as it looked like the night was going to be getting busier rather than settling down. Getting through to his number one choice to handle the evening rush, the teen barked out instructions and peremptorily hung up without waiting for a reply. Pinching the bridge of his nose in the attempt to ward off a headache, Riku went to find the rest of his staff.

Across the packed dance-floor a waitress gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the ribald comments directed at her by drunken men lounging on the bar tables. Xion took a deep calming breath as she piled plates onto her tray and let it out as an almost inaudible sigh. As soon as she was old enough to develop some body shape men had targeted her for comments and pick-ups, but no matter how often it happened she still found it hard to let the crude intimations and suggestions roll off her back.

She had just turned to attempt the perilous crossing of the dance-floor when a totally wasted customer went just too far for her to ignore. She had lifted the tray to keep the dishes out of the way of oblivious dancers when a large clumsy hand reached out and firmly cupped itself over her breast. Sapphire blue eyes narrowed dangerously and she quickly set the tray on a nearby table. Ignoring Riku as he shoved his way towards her having noticed what was occurring, she stepped in face to face with the grinning man and the next instant he hit the floor blood streaming from his broken nose.

Cursing slightly louder than before, Riku finally reached the furious girl and twisted her round to face him before she could deliver a finishing kick to the man stupid enough to touch her without permission. Forestalling the violent tirade he knew was coming, Riku snatched up her tray and shoved it at her forcing her to grab it. 'Please Xion,' he hissed in a low voice. 'Let me pander to these idiots and we can talk about this behind the bar.

Plastering a huge smile on his pale face Riku turned back to the now standing victim of Xion's wrath and shook his head to commiserate with the dazed man. 'Sir,' he proclaimed. 'You must have a round of drinks for you and your friends on the house to make up for that terrible slip. The waitress that spilled the drink will be disciplined and be sure that we will tighten all cleaning procedures because of this horrible accident.'

Completely dazzled by the force of Riku's charm and not a little bit of mesmerizing magic, the man even held out a hand for Riku to shake. 'Vanitas.' He mumbled by way of introduction, still holding his nose with his other hand. 'Sorry for making such a scene.'

Even though he had apologized, Riku could still see a smoldering anger deep in the other man's eyes. Steering him away from the main bar where Xion had headed, he took Vanitas's arm in a show of camaraderie and smiled winningly. 'Vanitas, I don't think you and your friends should be drinking with the regular rabble we get in here, please be my guest for the night in Bar 13. I'll organize VIP passes for you all and any time you want a drink just drop my name, I'm Riku the manager of this place by the way.'

Vanitas was in no way distracted from his humiliation at the hands of the slim waitress but nonetheless he let himself be directed to the door of Bar 13. Forcing a smile he nodded his head at the excited jabbering of his friends and let them press a large expensive drink into his hands. He reacted and commented in all the right places, but in his head he had his hands around the pale throat of a tiny black haired waitress.

88888

Brushing his silky blue-grey hair out of his eyes Zexion tried to move faster than he actually could. First he got his buckle-up boots on the wrong feet and then his keys seemed to actively be hiding from him. By the time he made it out his front door he knew that Riku would be breathing fire when he actually got to the club. Swallowing a sigh he pushed his tired body into a fast jog and angled towards Club Paopu.

People were spilling over onto the streets as Zexion pushed his way through the front doors of Club Paopu. He saw Riku behind the main bar and scuttled through the pulsing mass of bodies before literally diving over the bar to safety. Bracing himself for a venomous dressing-down Zexion dragged his eyes up to meet Riku's gaze.

Before Zexion could even open his mouth to explain his lateness, Riku slapped him on the back and gave him a wicked smile. 'Ah Zex, I'm not going to kill you for being late. I know I sounded a little... Grumpy over the phone, but believe me, I'm glad I was here to deal with Xion's wee explosion. I wouldn't have missed it for anything.'

For the first time since catapulting over the counter, Zexion noticed Xion was standing behind Riku with her arms wrapped tightly around herself. She nodded in his direction without looking up but did manage to crack a small smile at Riku's poetic description of the evening. Without any inflection on her words she muttered, 'I will at least be able to finish our shift Zex.'

Heaving a huge and exaggerated sigh of relief, Riku let a real smile spread over his face. 'Xion, you will be getting double pay for this days work, and you too Zex. I know you're only sticking it out so I can get home for one night this month.' Stifling a chuckle he added, 'Sora will probably find a way to thank you guys too.'

Blushing the color of a very ripe tomato, Zexion muttered incoherently and busied himself pulling pints for the customers who were almost on the edge of revolt. Xion hugged her arms round her own waist one more time and then shook her whole body vigorously. Shooting a brief smile at her boss she joined Zexion in making drinks as fast as possible muttering to herself, 'At least the damn kitchen is closed. I think I might push for promotion to barmaid.'

Watching his two best staff at work for a short moment, Riku finally turned away from the barely controlled chaos of his club. Trying to banish the persistent headache bouncing round his brain, the silver haired boy strode off down the side street towards his residence running through options in his mind for surprising his partner on their anniversary.

88888

As rain began to fall, Riku finally gave in and loudly voiced the most disgusting swearword he knew. His voice echoed back at him in the empty street and made him laugh unwillingly at the cacophony of multiple obscenities. Flipping his now soaking hair out of his face, he saw a brightly lit shop only 100 yards ahead of him and gratefully raced towards it for shelter.

Bursting through the door and slamming it behind himself Riku leant against the wall, closed his eyes and let out a pained sigh. Even though he had only had to run 100 yards after leaving the club, he was still drenched through every layer of clothes and through his skin to the bone it felt like. Looking dejectedly down he watched his own personalized pond forming around his feet.

A gentle bell-like chiming snapped Riku's head up and he saw the curtain of bells behind the counter was actually a kind of screen blocking the view of another room. The cause of the beautiful tinkling was a tall slim blonde woman who had gracefully entered the room in a manner so silent that without the bells he would not have known she was there. Raising a hand to forestall his imminent apologies, the woman gave him a warm smile.

'Water on the floor will wipe away Riku,' she said, smiling wider. 'It is worth a few raindrops to finally see you in my shop.' She held out a slim hand holding a fluffy towel that Riku hadn't even noticed when he first saw her and he took it gratefully before what she had said registered in his mind.

'How, how do you know my name? I don't think I've even seen you before and I've lived here most of my life!' A frown marring his perfect features Riku glanced warily at the woman, but was unable to summon even a token feeling of distrust. There was something about this woman that whispered to his soul and he somehow sensed he could trust her with his life.

Chuckling deep within her throat the woman shook her head. 'I apologize Riku, I don't know where my manners are. Precognition can severely mess with social conventions. My name is Namine, and I have run this shop for longer than I care to remember. I've been expecting you in here at any point over the last couple of months and I am very happy to meet you face to face at last.'

Mouth open, Riku stared speechlessly at the grinning Namine. Confusion and trepidation chased each other within his deep aquamarine eyes and he fell back against the wall with a thump. Squeezing his eyes shut he shook his head, trying to wrap his thoughts around what he had just been told.

The grin Namine's face softened and she guided Riku to a soft armchair in the book section of the shop. Seating herself on one of the many poufs scattered between the bookshelves, Namine remained silent allowing Riku some time to regain his equilibrium. When she judged that the turmoil in his head was beginning to quiet, the woman reached out and gently lifted Riku's chin until he was looking into her clear blue eyes.

'We did not meet by chance Riku.' She said softly. 'There are many reasons behind the fates bringing you to me.' Smiling a little she continued, 'Not the least of which is finding the perfect anniversary gift for that sweet Sora of yours.'

Startled out of his thoughts by the lightening of her tone and the fleeting reference to his partner, Riku was surprised into a brief laugh. 'I suppose I shouldn't shocked that you know about Sora, but I am. How much do you know about me and mine?'

'Ah Riku, I don't know nearly as much as I would like nor nearly as much as I need to. But what I did know about our meeting was that it would be a night of rain and you would be needing the perfect present for the one you love. I knew your name and soul but not your face, and I suppose it would be the same with Sora when I do indeed get to meet him. There are other things I will share, but I think they would best wait for a second meeting. Tonight should be focussed on you and Sora.'

Letting a genuine laugh at last Riku relaxed back into his chair with some of his customary poise regained. 'Why do I have the feeling that I won't need to search the shop for Sora's present? In fact I'm having a clairvoyant flash myself that it might be sitting in the room you appeared from before.'

Laughing along with the irrepressible silver-ette Namine nodded and with grace that was almost inhuman she glided into the back room. Before the bells had time to quiet she swept back into the main shop, but she didn't just hold 1 gift. In Namine's arms were not 1 but 3 packages, 2 of which were carefully wrapped in beautiful blue paper, the other in just a plain box. Pleased to be able to silence Riku once more she handed him the top package and sat before him once again.

'This is the present for Sora.' Namine said indicating the parcel Riku was now holding. 'I won't tell you what it is, but trust me when I say it is perfect for you both. Now the reason I have these others here is that you will soon meet another pair in need of this gift. You will know when the time comes to give them the parcel so keep it safe until that time comes.'

Blushing at the wealth of kindness shown by the seemingly young woman, Riku took the wrapped boxes with a murmured thank you. Both hands full he tilted his head towards the plain box questioningly. 'If these are gifts that we need, then what is in the other box Namine?' Using her name for the first time was strangely familiar and he matched her beautiful smile with one of his own.

'This Riku? This is something just for you and Sora. Something for you both to hold onto in the dark times to come. I won't say anything more tonight about the future, but what I give you now is something of pure love and pure beauty. It was given to me long ago, and the time has come to pass it on.'

So saying she reached into the box and withdrew a pair of matched pendents. As they were lifted from the container the gold chains sparkled brilliantly but it was nothing compared to the charms attached at the end of the chains. It was as if someone had coaxed two perfect stars down from the night sky and tethered them on chains of gold. Stunned Riku reached out and took the necklaces which responded to his touch by shimmering in a succession of rainbow colors. Unsure what this meant Riku looked up at Namine and was shocked to see a single tear running down her cheek.

Brushing away the shining teardrop, Namine smiled again at Riku. 'It's nothing Riku, just some memories of long ago. I remember my first glimpse of the Hoshi no Kokoro and how they recognized me then as they recognize you now. There is no pain at the memories Riku, just so much distance.'

Speechless Riku wished he could think of some words to comfort the fey but beautiful woman in front of him, but before his brain could kick into gear she was hustling him out the door. Her ever-present smile back on her face Namine closed the door behind them and watched Riku wander down the steps in a bewildered manner.

'Get back to your Sora!' she called after him. 'You managed to get the evening free for him. I will see you again when the time comes.' Under her breath and just out of Riku's hearing she added, 'I pray that it does not come soon. It will not be as pleasant as this one.'

As mysteriously as she had appeared from the depths of her shop, Namine faded back inside and closed the door. The lights dimmed before going out completely and as he looked back Riku could see the last of the light shining on her blonde, nearly white hair.

The rain had quietened to a gentle drizzle but still managed to trickle down the back of Riku's shirt and make him shiver. Panic suddenly overwhelmed him as he thought of how long he had spent in Namine's shop and he whipped his wrist around to check his watch. His mouth fell open for the second time that night as he saw that only 1 minute had elapsed between when he left the club and now. Shaking his head in disbelief he once again reevaluated his opinion of the unassuming blonde woman in her strange shop.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Seven.

When Riku had left Club Paopu he had walked innocently down the main street that ran adjacent to both the club and the adjoining Bar 13. Unnoticed by his keen turquoise gaze in the pouring rain, his progress was watched intently by a shadowy figure standing in the back fire-escape doorway of Bar 13. As soon as Riku made his break for the brightly lit shop up the street, the figure moved soundlessly back inside the bar and resumed his seat with his friends as though he had never left.

Vanitas had spent the last hour in the grip of a deep fury as he was forced to laugh and joke with his friends who were getting steadily more and more wasted. No one noticed that Vanitas alone was not taking advantage of the range of liquor Riku had left open to them and they were getting to the point of not noticing should a purple elephant have appeared.

The man next to Vanitas, Terra, gave a loud whoop and fell backwards off his chair also managing to pull the gorgeous blue haired girl next to him over as well. The girl Aqua, was another friend of Vanitas and had the same streak of belligerence. The second she and Terra hit the floor Aqua flipped over to straddle Terra and began berating his clumsiness, punctuating every word with a vicious push to his chest.

A smile totally devoid of humor flitted across Vanitas's face and he stood authoritatively and announced, 'Right, I'm calling a taxi for you idiots.' Ignoring a couple of drunken protests Vanitas flipped out his phone and ordered a taxi for his friends. Helping both Aqua and a bruised Terra to their feet, Vanitas bundled them out of the door and propped them up against the wall. Making a mumbled excuse about having to meet someone in town later he left them to make their own way home without him.

Vanitas lingered in a deep shadow just long enough to watch Terra and Aqua stagger into their taxi, singing a lewd song. The disturbing joyless smile slowly crawled back onto Vanitas's face and he used his talent with shadows to blur his body into invisibility across the road from the front doors of Club Paopu. Pure malice glittered in his sickly yellow eyes and he settled down to wait for the girl, Xion, to finish for the night.

88888

Limping heavily Cloud forced himself to continue his patrol of the city's slums. He ground his teeth together and tried to focus his mind on the shifting shadows that seemed to swirl in the misting rain instead of drifting back to the insane happenings of his training session. Try though he might he couldn't banish the thoughts of Squall's violence against him and then the subsequent bi polar switch to tender caresses.

Lost in his own thoughts he hardly noticed where his feet had taken him until he was suddenly snapped out of his reflection by a guttural scream. Blue eyes rapidly flicking left and right to take in the scene before him Cloud was shocked to see a teenage girl covered in blood stumbling along, hardly even able to hold herself up against the brick wall. His eyes widened even further when he saw a wave of shadow gather itself behind the girl preparing to engulf her.

Without a another thought Cloud found himself sprinting towards the terrified girl. He caught her round the waist in his strong arms and swung her out of the path of the approaching shadow. As Cloud scooped the girl out of the way of the shadow he heard a strange furious hiss coming from deep within the writhing darkness. Before his eyes the shadows morphed into the form of a glowering young man, whose eyes were firmly fixed on the girl currently sobbing in his arms.

Cloud's vivid blue eyes widened as the silently seething man in front of him let out a low growl full of pure menace. He pushed the girl behind him and put himself directly in the other man's path, staring boldly into the younger man's yellow eyes. 'Who are you?' He gritted out between his clenched teeth. 'What the fuck are you doing?'

Vanitas could barely control the rage that boiled up inside him when the tall blonde man came out of nowhere and snatched Xion from his grasp. He let the veneer of shadows he used to chase Xion fall away from him and revealed his slender but tightly muscled form. His yellow eyes glowed with an inner hatred that was focused firmly on Xion, and he was not about to let anyone take away his prey.

Ignoring the words flung at him by the blonde fighter Vanitas started to circle towards Cloud's left. He could see that the man was a warrior but also that he was favoring his left leg, probably due to a previous injury. As Cloud swung to face Vanitas, the dark haired boy made his move almost faster than the eye could see. As Cloud put his weight on his injured left leg, Vanitas reversed his path and seemed to not even move through the intervening space before appearing behind Cloud's back right next to a wide eyed Xion.

Cloud realized his mistake just in time and managed to reach out and pin Vanitas's wrist to the wall. Spinning back around Cloud bodily pushed Vanitas back against the bricks and trapped his other arm firmly by his side. 'I'm not letting you go, boy. Not until you tell me what the fuck you think you are doing! This girl is badly hurt and scared out of her wits. What did you do?'

Vanitas couldn't believe that he was neutralized so easily by the older fighter. He fixed his strange yellow eyes on the blue eyes staring at him from barely half a foot away and bared his pointed teeth. 'I am Vanitas you stupid soldier.' He spat into Cloud's face. 'I am Son of the Shadows and I do whatever the fuck I want. This Xion girl attempted to bring me to her pitiful level so I am teaching to not to mess with things that are so far above her.'

Cloud just shook his head at the arrogance and venom in the boy he had pinned to the brick wall. He motioned to Xion to move away from him and Vanitas and then looked back into the glaring eyes of the boy. 'Son of Shadows or not, _boy_, you won't be hurting this girl any more. She will be coming with me tonight and if I see you near this area again, you will going straight to the cells of Deliverance. See I'm the head officer of this division of Deliverance and we can seriously fuck things up for you.'

Sneering at the small speech just delivered to him Vanitas gave a slight and insolent nod. 'You win for night Mr Deliverance. I guess we will have to see what happens with our next meeting. Oh and do make sure Xion gets home safely, we wouldn't want her to be attacked by a home invader or somesuch now would we?'

Vanitas finally provoked more of a reaction of Cloud who upon hearing the thinly veiled threat pulled Vanitas towards him and then slammed him back into the wall, knocking his breath out of him. Repeating the movement, Cloud made sure that this time Vanitas's head took a hard knock. 'Listen you little shit,' he growled. 'If you're not careful, then you might find Deliverance watching your every step. Don't push me any further on this _Vanitas_!'

The glow in Vanitas's eyes faded a little but not completely. When Cloud slowly let him fall onto his own feet, Vanitas cockily ran his hands through his pitch black hair and wiped a small trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. Looking beyond Cloud to Xion who was still standing in the middle of his street, Vanitas leveled one finger at her in a shooting motion. Not willing to press Cloud on his threat, the dark haired boy turned and disappeared into the dark of night.

88888

Cloud hardly had time to turn away from Vanitas's disappearing form before Xion hurled herself at him burying her head in his chest. He held her awkwardly for a few seconds before holding her at arms length to look her steadily in the eyes. 'What really happened with that Vanitas?' He asked quietly.

Taking a deep breath to swallow her dying sobs, Xion blinked and looked back at Cloud with a watery blue stare. 'I was waitressing in the club.' She whispered. 'He grabbed me, not just on the ass either. I've had problems with... Guys in the past and that Vanitas threw me out of control. I'm a trained fighter and I knocked him down, almost broke his nose before my boss stepped in and sent him to the VIP bar. I thought he had gone when I left my shift. And then... Then he came out of nowhere...'

Cloud could see she was beginning to lose what little reign she had on her feelings and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. 'Do you live near here?' He asked her gently. 'I can take you home if you need me to.'

Shaking her head in shame Xion averted her eyes. 'I was kicked out of my flat about a month ago because I couldn't afford the rent. I've been sleeping on the street ever since. I, I'm scared to go back to the bridge I've left my things by in case Vanitas finds me somehow..' Unable to continue she lapsed into broken sobs.

Sighing deeply Cloud pulled her into a reassuring hug. 'I know somewhere I can take you for the night Xion. And if you need to stay longer it can be arranged. This place is designed to help young people like you, it was created to help people with nowhere else to go.'

Heaving a deep sigh Xion bowed her head and nodded. Like a little girl she reached out to take Cloud's hand. Hand in hand the pair headed across the city towards Kojo. Lights burned in every window of the towering house, beckoning Cloud like a beacon and to Xion like a guiding light.

88888

After his weird meeting with Namine in the 'little shop of horrors' Riku stood in the street for almost five full minutes trying to figure out what had just happened. If it had not been for the blue wrapped box held under his arm and the warm, glowing star heart necklaces in his pocket he would have thought he imagined the whole thing.

The wind howled around his thin body making him shudder and he snapped back into reality. Looking again at his watch and gulping to see that it was already twenty minutes until the ten o'clock Riku broke into a run towards the building his Sora was waiting in. His long legs ate up the distance between him and his love and he stretched his speed to its limits. Arriving mere minutes later at the gate of Kojo he paused to shake his hair back into some semblance of style and then pushed open the gate to bound up into the house.

Sora was half lying on his spacious king-size bed when Riku appeared at the doorway looking windswept and interesting. The brunette's eyes lit up from deep inside looking like two glowing sapphires as he smiled winningly at Riku. Not willing to wait another second, Riku crossed the room in two strides, gently laying the package he carried on the end of the bed before diving onto Sora and engulfing him in a massive bear hug.

Chuckling into his lover's ear Sora returned the hug with equal passion. He worked across town from Riku and hadn't been able to see him properly all week. Now it was Saturday night and their anniversary and Sora was ready to enjoy having his Riku all to himself. Still, he bit Riku's neck and whispered gently to him, 'Love, it might be a more enjoyable night if I am able to breath don't you think?'

Letting out a little huff Riku sat back to look into Sora's beautiful eyes but kept his place between the silverette's legs. Reaching behind him with a grin he whipped the package from Namine's shop into Sora's hands. 'Here,' he grinned at Sora's childlike look of anticipation. 'I might have picked you up something for a possibly special evening.'

Bouncing up and down on the bed and nearly knocking Riku off sideways in his enthusiasm, Sora pounced on the present and tore the paper off in an instant. Ripping open the box Sora's eyes widened into almost perfect circles fixed on what was inside and he completely missed Riku craning to see what was in there too.

Slowly Sora lifted out the item in the box, his eyes filling with tears of pure joy. As Riku caught sight of what Sora held in his hands a smile spread across his face and he silently thanked whatever premonition had guided Namine's choice. In Sora's hands was a fresh, perfect Paopu fruit, flawless in every way. Taking Sora's free hand, Riku planted a kiss on his palm and met his glowing eyes.

Moving as one, Sora and Riku lifted the Paopu fruit between them and whispered in unison, 'I love you.' Still moving in tandem they slowly moved towards the fruit and their lips each met a point of the star shaped Paopu. On the fourth anniversary of their love, Sora tied his fate to Riku's and vice versa.

Blushing a little, the pair chewed and swallowed their respective mouthfuls of Paopu fruit, eyes never leaving each other. Breaking the mood with a roguish wink, Riku pulled the two necklaces out of his pocket saying, 'Oh and if you weren't happy with that, here is another... Little token of how I feel about you.'

Sora's breath caught in his throat when Riku withdrew the star hearts from his pants. Stroking Sora's cheek, Riku lifted one of the necklaces over his head to sit on his tanned chest. He laid the other pendent around his own neck and was completely unprepared for what happened next.

Both teens were filled with a warmth and a sense of perfect harmony. The light of the star hearts grew brighter and brighter until it enclosed both Sora and Riku in a scintillating aura of rippling blue and green lights, strangely enough matching their eyes. Breathless and wondering Sora couldn't help but wonder where Riku had found the amazing pendents, and to their shared amazement Riku could hear the thought.

Timidly thinking back at Sora he answered, 'A strange woman called Namine, I went into her shop after work because of the rain. God it was the strangest thing.' His thoughts lost the coherence of sentences, but as he replayed the strange meeting in his head, Sora was able to see the episode happening in its entirety.

The pair stared at each other in awe, unable to even speak after what they had experienced. Laying back on the bed, Riku simply held his Sora in his strong arms while Sora idly twirled his lover's silver silky hair through his fingers. Feeling closer than they ever had before, the couple were merely happy to bask in the presence of the other, feeling their love as an almost tangible blanket surrounding them.

88888

Once again Axel came to with a sense of confusion and disorientation. He felt a crick in his back that hurt like a bastard and as soon as he opened his eyes small snippets of memories began flashing before his gaze. Giving his head a vicious shake, Axel turned his head to the side and found himself nose to nose with the peacock blue eyes and dirty blonde spikes of his roommate Roxas.

Axel's jade green eyes blinked in frank confusion and his mouth dropped ajar. The last concrete thing he remembered was knocking his shins horribly on the coffee table in the middle of his and Roxas's room and then just strange glimmers in his mind of roaring flames. Meeting Roxas's eyes he managed to stutter, 'What, what happened? I didn't mean to wake you. I'm sorry...'

Giving a cheeky grin Roxas waved away the older boy's apology without another thought. Still cradling Axel in his lap he poked out his tongue and chuckled, 'It's ok, I wasn't having beautiful dreams anyway. You did me a favor Spiky.'

The nickname and the nonchalance of Roxas's reply startled a laugh out of the usually reserved redhead. Suddenly realizing where he was, literally on top of Roxas, Axel staggered to his feet and backed over onto his bed. Smiling wanly at the puzzled blonde, he muttered, 'It's been a strange few days man. I hardly know where my head is right now. How... How did I get to be, where I was?'

Raising his eyebrow at Axel, Roxas considered his reply. 'I don't know when you came over to my bed, but I got woken up by bright lights. I found you passed out by my bed with huge towers of flame on either side of you. I got kind of scared because you didn't seem to be breathing and I might have grabbed you... Well ok, hugged you and then the flames disappeared. I didn't want to let you go to go and get help so I just made sure you were sort of safe in my arms.'

Blushing beet-red by this point Roxas bit his lip and looked away from the stunned Axel. 'I'm sorry,' the embarrassed blonde muttered. 'I know I should have just gone to get Sephiroth or something. I'm sorry I didn't help more.'

Hesitantly Axel forced himself to reach out and grab Roxas's shoulder before he could turn completely away. Pulling gently on the other boy's shoulder he coaxed him into turning back to face him and met his eyes fearfully. 'I don't know how much you know about me Roxas or the shit that brought me here, but what you did was right. I...' He found he couldn't continue and tried to cry quietly.

Roxas stood indecisive in the middle of the room, but when he saw the tears on Axel's cheeks he moved towards the redhead. Sitting next to him on the bed but not touching he asked a question quietly. 'Will you tell me why you came here? You don't have to... But I want to know... But only if you want to...'

Calmed by the honest caring in Roxas's voice Axel gathered his courage and started his story. His voice would only come out in a whisper, but he forced the words out. 'For years my dad beat me. My mum too. They said I ruined what they had and that they wished they never had me. I should have been a better son, but I was never good enough I guess.'

Coughing uncomfortably Axel continued, 'It was bad sure but they never beat me bad enough to have time off school or go to the hospital... Not until that night. It was only about three nights ago but it seems like forever you know? Reno, my dad, he took over when my mum got too tired. And then he wouldn't stop. He was choking me... Oh god it was so fucked up. He tried to kill me.'

Voicing those words to someone else brought it home like nothing else had and Axel collapsed in tears again. Roxas laid a gentle hand on his shoulder and bit his lip at the feel of Axel's silky red hair on his palm. Gathering his courage he pulled Axel up into a hug and just simply held the other boy as he poured out his pain.

He could feel as Axel's sobs began to lose strength and he took the initiative by stretching out on the boy's bed. He tugged gently at Axel until he gave in and lay down next to him, his head on Roxas's chest. Roxas wriggled until they were both comfortable and ran his hand softly over Axel's spiky hair and down his shoulder blades. He felt rather than heard Axel's breathing slow and he knew his friend was asleep. Whispering to the unconscious boy he said, 'I'm here Axel. You don't need to worry anymore.' And satisfied he had said the words Roxas let sleep overtake him as well.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7.

Shredded pieces of paper filled the air like the explosion of an empty pinnate (pinyata). Cloud brought his clawed hand hissing through the paper-cloud and just about doubled the amount of flying paper. Forgoing a scream to vent his frustration, the yellow-haired warrior clenched his non-metal fist so hard he drew blood.

In the corner of the room a woman cowered, it was she who bought the information that set off Cloud's ticking time bomb of emotions. Aerith had never seen Cloud lose it so completely and she never thought the information she had bought him would affect him at least to this point.

She had entered his office approximately 10 minutes before and for 9 of those she had been pressed into the corner, shrinking as small as she could to avoid the whirl of flying objects. The 1 outstanding minute was spent speaking about the suspicions she had about Sephiroth and his personal plans for Kojo.

Cloud could not believe what Aerith was telling him, that Sephiroth was running Kojo for a hidden agenda, pulling young teens form all over the area. And then... Oh god, he could hardly bring himself to think it, Sephiroth was using every single child housed at Kojo, for his own personal pleasure! No matter than some were bought into the house to get away from unmentionable abuse from their own families or that Kojo was meant to be a place of healing.

With a screamed obscenity Cloud managed to pick up his whole solid mahogany desk and flip it against the wall. Aerith could take no more of the contained violence and leapt onto Cloud's back, pinioning his arms to his side with all her strength. Instinct ruling his body, Cloud bucked and twisted trying to throw her off. Gradually though her whispered words in his ear broke the red wall of rage and he sank to his knees.

88888

Aerith had not been idle since she escorted Axel over to Kojo and left him in the care of Sephiroth. She had been working with the intimidating silverette for many years, but through all that time she had been unable to forge a genuine emotional connection with the man. The internet had been an illuminating source of information, but not nearly as much as the people who had been children during their years at Kojo.

During the years she had worked for Deliverance in conjunction with Sephiroth, Aerith had kept an unofficial list of the children who passed through Kojo's doors and where they went afterwards. The list was not so much informative as emotionally devastating. Seven young adults on the list had gone on to join gangs and subsequently be imprisoned for violent crimes. Eleven others could be found working the streets of Feyhaven, the largest city near Shardsvale. Worst on the list were the final nine, all of whom had committed suicide less than a year after walking out of Kojo.

All of the children who took their own lives had moved too fast for Aerith to even get in contact, let alone record their stories. She had however been able to get small amounts of information from the imprisoned youths in exchange for sentence reductions and in one case a full pardon. The ones who had turned to prostitution were fairly close mouthed, but even so Aerith had managed to build a detailed picture of life within the walls of Kojo. It burned within the compassionate woman that Sephiroth was currently untouchable by the law, but she had more than one plan in motion to bring his depravity down.

The first person Aerith maneuvered a meeting with was Hayner Cowden, a twenty one year old now locked up in maximum security at Shadow Bastion on the abandoned world of Hollow Bastion. When he was nineteen, Hayner was sentenced to twenty years in Shadow Bastion for the murder of a businessman in the upscale district of Feyhaven. Sephiroth had testified against him at the trial.

When Aerith first laid eyes on the short blonde she couldn't believe that this was the boy who managed to literally crucify a six foot tall weapons master. Sure his arms were taut with muscle and he had a hard cast to his features, but he looked like he should be behind a computer or studying at university. The conversation she had with Hayner however soon gave her insight into how he did what he did and also quite a bit of unreported background on why.

'Fucken oath, if I knew there were chicks like you in Deliverance I might have tried for that instead of sticking to the shitholes of Feyhaven!' Were Hayner's first words at laying eyes on Aerith. Letting a lecherous grin slide over his face the man leant back in his bolted down chair and gestured with cuffed hands for Aerith to take a seat opposite him.

Aerith blushed a deep red and awkwardly slid into the spare chair muttering, 'I'm Aerith Gainsborough an officer from Deliverance.' Shuffling the papers of Hayner's file, she paused and tried to figure out how to frame her opening question. Opening her mouth she paused again as she noticed that Hayner was shaking with silent laughter. Narrowing her eyes she forgot her prepared words and snapped, 'What's so damn funny?'

Still chuckling and waving his hands in a placatory manner he managed to choke out, 'First time in maximum security love? You don't need to worry about what you say in here, I've heard just about anything you can imagine and then some.' Clearing his throat to get rid of the residual laughter, Hayner met Aerith's eyes for the first time and said, 'I'm actually surprised that no one from Deliverance has come to see me before. When that fifth poor kid from Kojo jumped off the parking building I would have thought for sure that someone would have picked up that something wasn't right. And that was only six months into my sentence, what took so long?'

Her mouth open and speechless Aerith stared into Hayner's golden-hazel eyes. He had cut straight to the heart of why she was there without her even having to have said a word. Struggling to regain her equilibrium Aerith leant forward and let a wry smile play around the corners of her mouth. 'Smart kid aren't you?' She muttered. 'You must know that the silver haired bastard in charge of Kojo and the children inside has connections in the highest circles across Fallenstar. I've only managed to find the information I've got now by working in secret outside of Deliverance.'

Sighing Hayner rolled his eyes and slouched cynically in his seat. He had hoped that Aerith had come to get his story and then bring the whole weight of Deliverance down on the man once known as the One Winged Angel. 'So I guess you want to hear from the horse's mouth about that hell then? You feel safe enough in the same room as a hardened murderer though?'

A compassionate smile softened Aerith's features and her green eyes gazed knowingly at the younger man across from her. 'I have a feeling you aren't so cold blooded as you were made out to be Hayner.' She said softly. 'And I have a feeling that your story of how that man died would be a lot different from what was recorded. I'm willing to listen and do whatever I can to make things right if you want to tell me.'

Hayner drew in a sharp breath and bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. Looking away from Aerith he murmured, 'You don't know how much I was counting on hearing that lady. I was beginning to think that Sephiroth, that silver haired fuck, would get away with what he was doing. You have no idea... Well maybe you do. So many of my friends are dead because of him. Kinda grated on me that he could be free and clear.'

'I first was taken to Kojo when I was only thirteen. My family was already gone by then, the gang wars in my area took a pretty heavy toll. I lived there for five years before the state let me leave at eighteen as an adult. Honestly Aerith, can I call you Aerith? I wanted to get the hell out of Kojo from the minute I laid eyes on Sephiroth.'

'I knew there was something not right with that silverette psychopath the first time I looked in his eyes, and the worst thing was he knew that I knew. My first night there he used some strange yellow materia to paralyze me 'coz I was going to run away. He...' Hayner broke off and turned his head to the side. Aerith narrowed her eyes as he clenched his teeth and groaned softly before falling silent.

'What did he do Hayner?' The auburn haired woman enquired gently. 'I know it's hard but you need to tell me everything so I can finally do something about him. Whatever happened... It has to hurt more to hold it inside...' She was interrupted by a harsh bark of a laugh from Hayner and she met his eyes, gasping at the burning deep in his gaze.

'He raped me Aerith,' The blonde boy growled. 'He fucked me every way possible while I was unable to fight back, unable to even make a noise louder than a whisper. Telling you that he took my virginity and smiled while he did it does not make it easier to live with right?'

Shrinking back in her seat Aerith let out a shaky breath. 'I suspected he was... But I never, I couldn't believe it until now. How the hell could he do this and get away with it for so long? Why didn't you say anything to the Deliverance team?' She immediately regretted her last hasty question as Hayner's head snapped up and his eyes burned with rage.

'You ask me why I didn't tell your people? You who should have stopped this so many years ago? He had my friends before I even came to Kojo, he always made sure to forge strong bonds between us kids. Not so we would be able to function easier, but so he always had leverage to keep his sick secrets. He even promised to leave my best friend alone if I would submit to him without the materia poison and I did. I found out just before she killed herself that he lied about everything.'

'My friend Olette and I... We ran together on the streets of Feyhaven and watched each other's backs as we worked. I take it that you figured out how we survived. We hooked on the street corners for as much money as we could get, but Olette shouldn't have had to live like that. She shouldn't have had to live through what that fucking bastard made her do! One night when we were at our room in an abandoned house, Olette broke down and told me that Sephiroth had even sold her to a guy who could pay enough.'

'She told me all this and then told me she would stay home the next day. She just said she needed to think about what she would do next. I had to go, I had to work or we wouldn't have been able to eat. It wasn't a good day, all the marks were pretty fucking brutal, but I was just happy that I would be going back to Olette. I have never wanted to forget anything as much as what I saw that evening, not even my years at Kojo, but it is something I see every time I close my eyes.'

At this point Hayner paused in his harrowing story grimacing at the tears that were streaming silently down Aerith's face. Shaking his head with a small snarl he snapped, 'You will hear the full story okay? You wanted to know everything.'

'My Olette... She had waited until she knew I wouldn't be home again for a few hours and she slit her wrists with a broken mirror. She must have stumbled through the house just before her strength gave out 'coz there was blood all the way across the room from the window to the bath in the corner. She died in the bath and her own blood filled it half full before I got home.'

'All she left was two words on a blood covered pad. I took that before the police grunts could get there. I don't suppose you can guess what the words were on the pad? No? It was the name of the sick fuck that Sephiroth sold her to all those years. And you know what else? He was her regular customer when we worked in Feyhaven. She had to live through his perversion for so long... God she was even younger than me!'

'And Aerith?' At this Aerith raised her red rimmed eyes to look at the grim young man in front of her. 'That name ties into my own story another way. He was the man I hunted from the day Olette died, the bastard I crucified on the telephone pole before cutting of his cock and making him eat it. Sephiroth sold her to Master Eraqus and no one knew what a scumbag he was. Everyone said he was such a great guy and that Olette was just a cheap hooker. It's worth the twenty years to know that he is rotting in hell.'

Even through her tears and repulsion at the horrible story recounted to her Aerith had been scribbling shorthand notes frantically in her notebook. As Hayner finally fell silent once more and tried to choke back his own tears, Aerith made sure the guard was turned away and gently took Hayner's rough hand in hers. She couldn't put words to what she was feeling, but met Hayner's eyes and squeezed his hand. He seemed to understand her commitment to their shared cause and managed a small smile and a nod.

It seemed all too sudden that the guards were filling the room and surrounding Hayner to take him back to his cell and ushering Aerith out down the cold dank halls. She caught one last glimpse of Hayner's now impassive face and swore to herself that somehow she would find justice for the boy he had once been and for the girl he cared so much about. Pulling herself together Aerith strode out of Shadow Bastion and back towards the man she burned to bring down.

88888

Sephiroth chuckled darkly as the sleeping forms of Roxas and Axel lay together on Axel's bed, black and white on the screen in front of him. He had of course played some sick games with Axel earlier in the night, but he had in fact left the youthful and innocent Roxas alone so far. He wasn't totally sure why he hadn't touched the gorgeous blonde until now, but seeing the quick bond that formed between the older redhead and Roxas, he couldn't resist a repeat trip to the room. Sephiroth lived more for the pain and sheer horror he could inflict than the sex and pleasure he could receive, but he wouldn't deny that the sex was a close second.

Feeling buoyant and inexplicably playful Sephiroth pushed his chair backwards and slid across the small room-between-the-walls on his office chair. He snatched a handful of five cure materia, a purple sleep materia and one of his special vomit yellow ones, hesitating for a second he reached out and palmed a further materia this one a colorless gray. Smiling a smile that showcased his abnormally sharp canines, Sephiroth teleported to the corridor outside the boys' room and let out a small sigh of satisfaction. This second dalliance of the evening promised to be a _lot_ of fun.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight.

The purple glowing sphere sat between Axel's forehead and Sephiroth's black-gloved hand for half a second before sliding smoothly into his body. The sleep materia would be effective for the next eight hours before seamlessly giving way to normal sleep again. Axel lay motionless on his back and Sephiroth, satisfied with this moved his gaze to the form snuggled next to the redhead. Carefully the silverette lifted the boy from his rest and tossed him roughly across to the other bed.

Roxas awoke disoriented to an extent he had never experienced and couldn't help but let out a yelp as he felt the impact of hitting his own bed. His vivid blue eyes were wide open and he stared wildly at Sephiroth, unable to comprehend what was happening. Shocked into stillness at the bizarre awakening, Roxas just watched Sephiroth slowly stalk towards him across the room.

Feline green eyes pinned the terrified blonde to the spot and Sephiroth took advantage of Roxas's momentary paralysis to pounce forward and force the yellow materia into the boy's chest. The terrified look stayed in the blonde boy's eyes as his muscles all simultaneously went limp and he slumped onto the bed helpless. Standing over him Sephiroth let a cruel smile play around his lips and he gracefully sat down on the bed next to Roxas.

Ignoring the pleading in the boy's face Sephiroth methodically began to strip the buttoned silk nightshirt off of him relishing his fear and inching slowly closer. Finally the smooth material slid off revealing Roxas's tanned chest and lean but strong physique, on seeing this Sephiroth lost all semblance of control and moved to straddle Roxas, crushing his lips with a bruising kiss.

Roxas could not believe what was happening and had almost gone into shock. He had been put to sleep with the materia every time Sephiroth had played his twisted games with the other teens at Kojo and had no idea that he was not the first and would definitely not be the last. All Roxas knew at this moment was that he was completely at the mercy of the 'angel' and that his first time would be far from the special sacred thing he had been saving himself for.

Sephiroth smiled into Roxas's mouth and forced his lips open with his tongue. Kissing the teen deeply he ravaged the boy's mouth exploring every secret corner. Loving the silken feel of Roxas's face beneath his fingertips Sephiroth trailed his fingers down his neck and started caressing his flawless chest. He pinched a nipple between cruel fingernails and reveled in the beauty of the boy's whistling intake of breath, he quickly grew bored with such chaste foreplay however and moved both hands down to the obstructive boxers on Roxas's bony hips.

Roxas drew in a sharp breath and would have screamed if his vocal chords had obeyed him. Even though he couldn't make any of his muscles work he could feel every ghost of a touch and every breath on his skin, he wasn't stupid for all he was inexperienced and he knew what was coming was going to hurt like fuck.

Ripping away Roxas's boxers Sephiroth bit his lip hard at the untouched flesh that lay helpless in front of him. Not bothering that the boy was in no way aroused, Sephiroth found he could not wait another second to have him. He undid his own pants and yanked his rock hard cock out of his clothes. He lay down so his whole body was pressed against Roxas and guided himself until he was just touching Roxas's entrance.

Pausing with a sick smirk on his face Sephiroth lifted his green eyes until his gaze met Roxas's horrified blue ones only an inch away. Brushing a tender kiss across the boy's mouth he breathed in deeply and without further preamble forced himself full length into Roxas.

Even with the paralyzing materia coursing through his body Roxas threw his head back and let out a scream that came out as a breathy whistle. Sephiroth ignored this and withdrew almost all the way before slamming into the body under him again, this time with a shuddering groan. He couldn't believe how tight Roxas was and even the faint sounds the boy was making sung a song so erotic he was already on the verge of cumming.

As Sephiroth pulled back ready to thrust forward once more, he put his weight on one strong arm and used his free hand to tease Roxas's cock until it hardened despite his silent pleas to stop. Once the boy was fully erect Sephiroth angled his thrusts to hit his prostate and started to fuck the boy mercilessly fast, pumping his erection in time to the thrusts.

Because Roxas was a virgin and the tightest Sephiroth had ever experienced he came within a few wild strokes, filling Roxas with his seed. He withdrew his cock and slammed two fingers into Roxas pressing relentlessly on his prostate and massaging his cock until, with a despairing moan Roxas came as well, coating Sephiroth's gloves in his cum.

Luxuriating in the humiliation and misery that clouded Roxas's once clear blue eyes the silver haired psychopath smiled happily and started arranging the boy's body into a natural sleeping position. Still smiling he sensuously licked Roxas's cum from his gloved fingers and settled on his elbow next to him. Pure malice glittered in Sephiroth's eyes as he leaned down with his lips close to Roxas's ear.

'That was amazing Roxas,' The cruel man crooned. 'I'm glad I waited so long, but I won't be able to wait again you know. You might be wondering why you can't move, my little toy, and the reason is my special materia. It leaves you unable to move or speak, but still able to feel everything happening to you. Oh and Roxy, you know the best part? When it leaves your body in about three hours, it will take with it all memory of what happened under its influence.'

Pausing to let out a little snigger at his own genius Sephiroth continued, 'Don't get me wrong little Roxy, you will still feel all the lovely aftereffects of what we shared, but how it happened will be a total blank in your pretty head. I designed the poison I guess you could call it to fuzz your thoughts slightly as well to make this all seem dreamlike, even the pain, so that we can do this whenever we want without interference. Isn't that just great my Roxy?'

As Sephiroth finished his little monologue Roxas felt the savagery and total unreality of what had happened sweep over him like a wave of corrosive acid. Sapphire blue eyes rolled back in his head and he gave himself up almost eagerly to the darkness that engulfed him. Still grinning and now humming a little tune Sephiroth cleaned up all evidence of what had happened and with a flamboyant turn on his heel, teleported away leaving the two unconscious boys alone.

88888

Rough sobs tore from Larxene's throat and she spat out a curse as Marluxia nearly slipped from her thin shoulders. Stopping her stumbling run she half leant half collapsed against a wall beside the footpath trying to catch Marluxia's limp body as he fell from her grasp to the cold concrete sidewalk.

At this point, tough as she was, Larxene could not do it anymore. Falling to her knees beside the unconscious pink-hair she let out all her pain and anger and frustration in one long scream. Huddling against the wall Larxene pulled Marluxia close to her and cradled his head in her lap. After what seemed like an eternity she finally let her hidden tears fall.

Agony wracked Marluxia's body but that wasn't what originally woke him. The first thing he felt that dragged him from the blessed blackness of unconsciousness was a rhythmic shaking that didn't seem to originate with him. Forcing his leaden eyes open the pink haired boy found himself wrapped in Larxene's arms with her sobbing violently. As his brain picked up on it's conscious state, Marluxia let out groan of abject pain, his senses were telling him that every single inch of his body seemed to have been hit with a red hot mallet.

Shaken out of her hysteria by the groan of pain, Larxene opened her watery eyes and stared down at him stricken. She bit her lip until a trickle of blood ran down her chin and managed to stutter out between sobs, 'God I'm sorry Marly it was the only way I could stop him from killing you! Fuck I'm so sorry... My brother is a fucking psychopath and I can't believe I let him stick around us so long... This is all my fucking fault!'

Larxene abruptly stopped her tearful babbling as she realized that Marluxia was letting out choked and painful chuckles. Narrowing her eyes she glared at him and waited for the quiet laughter to die down. Once Marluxia was relatively silent again, Larxene snapped, 'Alright then, what the fuck is so funny about me crying and apologizing? I can't believe I electrocuted my brother and carried your fat ass all the way out here and...'

Hurrying to cut in before Larxene really got her bitch on, Marluxia managed to choke out, 'No! Larx, I didn't mean to laugh at you! It's just you think its your fault all of this.' Breaking off briefly Marluxia grimaced and swallowed a cough before it could turn into a full on hacking fit. He cleared his aching throat and continued, 'Remember it was my idea to go find bloody Vexen in the first place so I could get my fix easier. If I had kicked the drugs we would have never had to even see him. How can it not be my fault that he beat the living fuck out of you and then tried to kill us both?'

Marluxia struggled to push Larxene's arms from round him and hauled himself into a sitting position so he could look into the girl's eyes. 'If you blame you Larx, then you have to blame me as well alright? You didn't make the decision, we both did and I suggested it in the first place. Seriously though, I didn't realize he was that fucking out of it ay. I never thought things would get worse than a few slaps.'

Throughout Marluxia's choked words, Larxene had gone from still tearful and sniffling, to totally still. Her blue-green eyes took on a faraway look and when Marluxia finished his little speech and received no answer, he looked over at her and waved a thin hand in front of her face. 'Hello? Earth to Larx? Are you in there, um, actually you're not so where are you? Larxene, talk to me!'

Suddenly snapping out of her short trance, the blonde girl met Marluxia's worried blue eyes with an expression of concern and unease on her own face. Reaching up she placed her hands on either side of Marluxia's face and let out a tense breath. 'Marly, I think something was wrong with Vexen. No, don't, I'm not trying to play down what happened and his responsibility for his own actions, but seriously I remember thinking that something wasn't right and I've just figured out what the fuck it was!'

'When you were fighting him did you look at his face? Did you see his eyes at all?' When Marluxia shook his head in confusion Larxene continued, 'Well I did. When he figured out that I nearly led Deliverance to the Nest something strange happened to his eyes. It looked like they were filling up with blood for a second or two, but then when he summoned his ice he looked straight at me. His eyes were golden Marly, and I swear he wasn't him...'

For a long minute Marluxia didn't say anything, winding Larxene's nerves tighter and tighter. Glancing at her and seeing her consternation, he nodded to show he didn't think she was insane and let out a slow breath. He opened his mouth to speak, but the pain in his throat prevented sound escaping so instead he lifted his hand to his neck. The soft skin of his fingertips came into contact with gnarled and knotted dried blood, holding closed what would have been a gaping gash across his windpipe. Gathering his strength he managed to whisper, 'Now's the time to find a hospital I think Larxy, I don't think spending the night right here would be too fun.'

Forcing a smile at the lame attempt at cheering her up Larxene rose painfully to her feet, fresh wounds opening to trickle more blood. Heaving Marluxia to his feet and draping his arm over her shoulders for leverage she limped awkwardly off down the street, holding an inane conversation with her pink haired friend about flowers to make sure he didn't pass out again.

88888

_Golden eyes glittered and faint lines formed around them as a dark grin passed over the face they inhabited. With a few taps of a delicate finger, a text winged its way through the ether to Sephiroth informing him that two more parts of the plan were entering the picture. When the message was sent the owner of the golden eyes leant back in his chair, relaxing in contentment. Raising an eyebrow he sent his consciousness out in search of a particular mind._

_Golden eyes opened again and looked down at an unfamiliar body. Lifting strangely large hands and fingering long, lank blonde hair the figure stood swiftly but then stood still, swaying clumsily. Obeying the echoing commands roaring in his head, Vexen left the Nest where he had been sitting like a switched off machine and strode out into the quiet streets. Walking robotically he made his way to the back gateway of Kojo, a place he had never been before, and keyed in the combination to unlock the door._

_Sephiroth met the strange man at the back of Kojo, careful that no one had followed or had seen Vexen from inside the house. Leading the tall bulkily muscled man into the building, he ushered him into a small stone room below the basement level furnished with only a bed and a table. A door led off to a tiny bathroom and Sephiroth made sure to show Vexen everything just as he had been instructed. Once the room was shown to him, Vexen walked to the bed and lay motionless on his back, seemingly switched off. Without a word Sephiroth left the room and locked the door behind him._

_Xemnas let a quiet chuckle slip from his full lips smiling beatifically, everything was coming together __**so**__ well. Running through the pieces of his plan in his head the silver haired man counted through the separate parts one by one. Roxas was number one with Axel the second, and both were in place at Kojo. As were three and four, Riku and Sora. Xion was number five and on route to Kojo, with six and seven, Marluxia and Larxene due there any moment too. Vexen, at number eight was in place and compliant as a puppy once Xemnas had broken his mind. All that remained was to bring in numbers nine through twelve._

_A man of extraordinary patience Xemnas was satisfied at how his plot was progressing. It might take weeks or even months to maneuver the final pieces into play, but he had both the time and the dark serenity to wait however long it took. The connections binding the players into this strange game were becoming apparent, and Xemnas was content to watch and bide his time. For now._


End file.
